Gov. Jay Inslee will use $3 million in CARES Act funding towards security measures. Media shops report on information from Washington, Kansas, Oregon, Oklahoma, Iowa and Kentucky.
The Hill:
Washington State Eyes Reopening Schools No Matter The Rate Of COVID-19 Infections
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee (D) on Wednesday launched up to date plans for returning to in-person studying at faculties throughout the state, no matter a neighborhood’s COVID-19 an infection charges. “I do know some would have appreciated to see this sooner, however we now have information and analysis now that we didn’t have six months in the past,” Inslee mentioned throughout a press briefing Wednesday, the place he was joined by state Superintendent of Public Instruction Chris Reykdal, in addition to different schooling and well being leaders. (Castronuovo, 12/16)
The Washington Post:
Kansas Mayor Joyce Warshaw Resigns After Receiving Threats Over Mask Mandate
The emails and voice mails to Dodge Metropolis, Kan., Mayor Joyce Warshaw started pouring in final month, after the town fee voted to require everybody on the town to put on masks indoors. Some nameless messages informed her that she was limiting civil liberties, Warshaw informed The Washington Submit. Others mentioned she ought to go to jail over her vote. However after the western Kansas metropolis’s uphill battle towards the coronavirus pandemic was highlighted in a USA As we speak characteristic Friday, the messages grew extra frequent and aggressive: Burn in hell. Get murdered. One individual merely wrote, “We’re coming for you.” So after almost eight years in authorities, she referred to as it quits Tuesday. (Armus, 12/16)
AP:
Farmers Ordered To Pay Back Wages Over COVID-19 Quarantines
Three space farmers have been ordered to pay greater than $11,000 in again wages after denying paid sick go away to staff who have been suggested to self-quarantine following potential COVID-19 publicity. The U.S. Division of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division ordered Coleman Agriculture in Gervais to pay seven staff $8,878; St. Joseph Orchard Inc. in McMinnville to pay 4 staff $1,820 and J Farms LLC to pay one worker $720, the Statesman Journal reported. (12/16)
AP:
Oklahoma Puts Hold On Planned $400 Lost Wages Payments
Deliberate funds of $400 to some Oklahoma residents who misplaced wages amid the coronavirus pandemic are being placed on maintain because of the potential approval of further federal unemployment funds, Oklahoma Employment Safety Fee director Shelley Zumwalt mentioned Wednesday. “If new federal laws is handed and a brand new federal unemployment aid bundle reaches Oklahomans, it will likely be clear that OESC will return the funds,” mentioned Zumwalt, who introduced Dec. 10 that the funds would start this week. (Miller, 12/16)
Tribune News Service:
Tyson Foods Fires 7 Managers Accused Of Betting On Employee COVID-19 Infections At Iowa Plant
Seven Tyson Meals plant managers who have been accused of betting on what number of staff would get coronavirus have been fired Wednesday, the corporate mentioned. The suspected pool at Tyson’s pork plant in Waterloo, Iowa, was first reported in a November lawsuit filed by the son of a Isidro Fernandez, a plant worker who died from COVID-19. The lawsuit additionally accused of Tyson of disregarding employee security whereas holding the plant open and pressuring sick staff to maintain working. (12/17)
Additionally —
Des Moines Register:
Iowa Water Lead Levels Expose Thousands Of Iowans, UI Researchers Say
1000’s of Iowans, particularly youngsters, are being uncovered to excessive ranges of lead of their ingesting water, a risk that ought to push Iowa lawmakers to extend testing and decrease how a lot lead the state permits, College of Iowa researchers mentioned Tuesday. A sign of the severity of the risk: One in 5 infants in Iowa is born with elevated ranges of lead, mentioned Michelle Scherer, a College of Iowa civil and environmental engineering professor, pointing to a 2017 examine of blood samples from newborns. (Eller, 12/15)
Courier-Journal:
Louisville Overdoses Climb As COVID-19 Cuts Access To Support Groups
As drug customers have been lower off from some in-person assist companies due to the pandemic, overdose deaths in Louisville have skyrocketed this yr, in keeping with Dr. Martin Huecker, an emergency room doctor. “It is very difficult to get folks with habit the remedy they want when we now have these obstacles,” mentioned Huecker, who famous that the rise has come because the variety of total emergency room visits has dropped. (Aulbach, 12/16)
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